Indonesia has the potential to match Vietnam's achievements in the U-23 Asian Cup
From Southeast Asia, only Vietnam has advanced to the U-23 Asian Cup final. "Young Garuda" can match that achievement.
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Indonesian player, Muhammad Ferrari (3), outplayed South Korean player, Park Sanghoon, in the quarterfinal match of the 2024 U-23 Asia Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday (26/4/2024).
Until the sixth edition of the U-23 Asian Cup in 2024, five countries in the Southeast Asian region have passed the qualifying round and entered the final round. The five countries are Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Indonesian youth national team has qualified for the finals for the first time in 2024 in Qatar.
Of the five countries, the Southeast Asian representative with the most achievements in the U-23 Asian Cup was Vietnam. The Vietnam national team has qualified for the finals five times. Only once did the Vietnamese team fail to qualify for the finals, namely in the inaugural edition in 2013. Of the five times they participated in the U-23 Asian Cup, the highest achievement achieved by Vietnam was qualifying for the last eight twice and becoming runner-up once. /i>.
Another representative from Southeast Asia, Thailand, has also qualified five times like Vietnam until the year 2024. Like Vietnam, Thailand also failed to participate in the first edition in 2013. However, in the final rounds, Thailand's performance has not been as outstanding as Vietnam's. In the final rounds, Thailand's highest achievement has only been to qualify once for the quarterfinals (top eight).
Meanwhile, Malaysia has advanced to the final rounds three times, namely in 2018, 2022, and 2024. The neighboring country's highest achievement was reaching the top eight in the third edition held in China in 2018. Malaysia failed to advance to the semifinals after losing to South Korea with a score of 1-2.
Indonesian players and officials were photographed together in front of the Ultras Garuda Qatar supporter group who remained faithful in their support during Indonesia's match against South Korea in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Asian Cup U-23 at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday (26/4/2024).
Next, Indonesia has only once advanced to the final round, which was in 2024. In its debut participation, Indonesia's youth national team advanced to the semifinals. Indonesia managed to advance to the quarterfinals after finishing second in the group with two wins and one loss.
The Indonesian national team won against Australia and Jordan, while they experienced one loss from the host Qatar. In the quarterfinals, Indonesia successfully defeated the strong team of South Korea and advanced to the semifinals to face Uzbekistan.
Outside of Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, another country in the Southeast Asian region that has made it to the final round of the Asian U-23 Cup is Myanmar. Just like Indonesia, the Myanmar national team has only made it to the final round once, which was in 2013.
Myanmar's success was recorded as the only representative of Southeast Asia in the inaugural event in 2013, and also the only participation of Myanmar in the final round of the U-23 Asia Cup. At that time, Myanmar, which was grouped in Group A, was stopped in the group stage after suffering three defeats from other teams, namely South Korea, Oman, and Jordan.
The Indonesian U-23 team players are training at the training center location at the Humaidal Tayer Stadium, Al Nasr SC complex, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday (2/4/2024).
Leads of Southeast Asia representatives
This year, four representatives from Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, have successfully advanced to the final round of the U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar. Indonesia is in Group A together with Qatar, Australia, and Jordan. Meanwhile, Thailand is in Group C with Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Tajikistan. Vietnam and Malaysia, on the other hand, are in Group D with Uzbekistan and Kuwait.
In the qualifying round, the journey of four Southeast Asian representative teams towards the final round went smoothly. Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand occupied the first position in the U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, while Malaysia ranked second and advanced to the final as one of the four best second-placed teams from the 11 qualifying group.
Four Southeast Asian representatives who participated in the final round showed different results. Thailand and Malaysia were eliminated in the group stage and failed to advance to the knockout stage. Vietnam and Indonesia, on the other hand, succeeded in reaching the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, "Garuda Muda" advanced to the semifinals after defeating South Korea in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw for 120 minutes. Meanwhile, Vietnam failed to advance to the semifinals after losing to Iraq 0-1 at Al Janoub Stadium, early Saturday morning, April 27, 2024. With this achievement, Indonesia becomes the only representative from Southeast Asia that advances to the semifinals in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup.
Garuda Muda's journey to qualify for the U-23 Asian Cup semifinals is actually similar to Vietnam's achievements in the U-23 Asian Cup in China in 2018. In fact, the Vietnamese national team managed to qualify for the final round. and occupied the runner-up position after being defeated by Uzbekistan in the top match.
Vietnam's journey to the semi-finals of the 2018 Asian U-23 Cup was considered challenging. In the group stage, Vietnam was in Group D with South Korea, Syria, and Australia. The team, known as "The Golden Star" and coached by Park Hang-seo from South Korea, finished in second place in Group D with one win, one draw, and one loss.
Also read: Traces of the Indonesian National Football Team's Achievements at Asian Level
In the group stage, Vietnam won over Australia with a score of 1-0, then drew against Syria with a score of 0-0, and lost to South Korea with a score of 1-2. Vietnam qualified for the last eight with the title of group runner-up, accompanying South Korea as group winner.
Meanwhile, Indonesia qualified for the last eight in the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup after suffering their first defeat against hosts Qatar and wins over Australia and Jordan. Just like Vietnam in 2018, Indonesia qualified for the knockout rounds after finishing in the runner-up position in Group A.
Indonesian player, Marselino Ferdinan (left), attempts to pass South Korean player, Cho Hyun-taek, during the quarter-final match of the 2024 AFC U-23 Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar, on Friday (26/4/2024). Indonesia defeated South Korea and advanced to the semi-finals.
In the quarter-finals of the 2018 U-23 Asian Cup, Vietnam met the Group C winners, Iraq. Vietnam succeeded in overthrowing Iraq, who held the title U-23 Asian Cup champions in 2013 through a penalty shootout. A penalty shootout was carried out after a 1-1 draw in normal time (90 minutes), then extra time was played (30 minutes) and the score remained tied at 3-3. Vietnam took the lead in the penalty shootout with a score of 5-4. For the first time, in 2018, Vietnam qualified for the semifinals.
Similar to the challenging path of Vietnam, Indonesia also met the champion of the 2020 U-23 Asian Cup, South Korea, in the quarterfinals. Indonesia advanced to the semifinals after defeating South Korea in a penalty shootout, 11-10. The penalty shootout occurred after the score was tied 2-2 during normal time (90 minutes), and the score remained the same during extra time (30 minutes).
Also read: Achievements of the U-23 National Team, Garuda Muda's Achievements Were Not Magic Overnight
Vietnam's struggle to make it to the final stage is no less daunting. Vietnam met Qatar in the semifinals held at Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre on January 23, 2018. Vietnam advanced to the final stage through a penalty shoot-out drama after playing 2-2 in normal time (90 minutes) and the score remaining the same in extra time (30 minutes). Vietnam emerged victorious in the penalty shoot-out with a score of 4-3.
Traces of Southeast Asian representatives
The success of Vietnam in reaching the final of the 2018 AFC U-23 Cup is a standout moment in history as the only Southeast Asian team to make it to the final match. In the final match, Vietnam met Uzbekistan, who had previously defeated South Korea.
However, Vietnam failed to defeat Uzbekistan, who eventually became the U-23 Asian Cup champions. Uzbekistan's winning goal was determined in extra time after the normal time score was tied 1-1. Uzbekistan took the lead 2-1 after scoring the winning goal at the end of the second additional period or in the 120th minute.
Indonesia, which has advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 U-23 Asia Cup, will meet Uzbekistan, the team that thwarted Vietnam's ambition to become the champion of the 2018 U-23 Asia Cup. This year, Uzbekistan advanced to the semifinals after defeating the 2022 U-23 Asia Cup champion, Saudi Arabia, with a score of 2-0.
Also read: U-23 National Team Success, 3-4-3 Formation, and 2024 Olympic Hopes
Garuda Muda will face a steep road to reach the final. Indonesia faced Uzbekistan, which has a record of never conceding a goal since the first match and has a 100 percent winning record, aka always winning until the semifinals. Apart from that, Uzbekistan has the experience of winning this tournament in 2018 and becoming runner-up in 2022.
However, the Indonesian youth national team has experience in overthrowing South Korea, which holds the status of champion of the U-23 Asian Cup in 2020 and runner-up in 2016. This trace of experience has become capital for Garuda Muda to set foot in the final following its achievements. Vietnam in 2018. Vietnam's success in reaching the final in 2018 is proof of the ability of Southeast Asian teams to compete with other countries in the U-23 Asian Cup.
(Compass R&D)
Also read: History and Achievements of the Indonesian U-23 Team in the Asian Cup
